These days I only know of two other people who do it. I'm sure there are others though, it's not something that is really on display, right? The diabetic lancet is generally the way to go.

The main inspiration for the practice comes from the garland sutra.
Jimmy Yu's book has alot of information on the practice in historical times and even one of the disciples of Jianzhen did it, but I forget who.

I've never heard of this practice before. I like copying texts by hand, but doing it with blood is certainly not my cup of tea, I'd very much prefer Diamine Oxblood

Van Schaik mentions that he had one historic text chemically analyzed and the ink had a very high iron content, so it was probably iron gall ink into which the writer had mixed some drops of his own blood.

"I struggled with some demons, They were middle class and tame..." L. Cohen

I came across this from the Box Sutra while reading about Avalokiteshvara in a text, A Garland of Jewels by Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche. Emphasis is mine.

The Box Sutra wrote:The Bhagavat Shakyamuni once said, "It is valuable for beings to hold the name of Avalokita. His great awareness mantra of six syllables was sought for sixteen kalpas by all tathagatas. Even the great mother of tathagatas prostrates to this awareness mantra.

"Those who hold it and recite it will acquire immeasurable merit. At the time of it's recitation tathagatas and bodhisattvas equal in number to the smallest particles will gather. Millions of buddhas will enter the pores of the reciter of this mantra. They will bestow their approval, saying 'Child of family, you have well acquired something worthy of acquisition. Even all the beings who live in your belly will become irreversible bodhisattvas.' The reciter will be guarded by devas, nagas, yakshas, and others.

"Anyone who keeps this mantra on their body will achieve a vajra body and a buddha's wisdom. They will acquire all complete qualities, including confidence, wisdom, love, and the paramitas. They will quickly achieve the unsurpassable awakening of buddhahood.

"Any being who touches or sees this mantra will become a bodhisattva who has reached the end of rebirth. This great awareness mantra pulls out the root of samsara. It guides one to liberation and omniscience. In search of this mantra, one should fill all of Jambudvipa with the seven jewels and offer it. If someone wishes to write this mantra down but lacks ink, it would be excellent for them to use their blood as ink, their skin as paper, and their bones as a pen."

"The Sutras, Tantras, and Philosophical Scriptures are great in number. However life is short, and intelligence is limited, so it's hard to cover them completely. You may know a lot, but if you don't put it into practice, it's like dying of thirst on the shore of a great lake. Likewise, a common corpse is found in the bed of a great scholar." ~ Karma Chagme

Soma999 wrote:But if someone bleed, he can offer the blood who has leaved the body to the Buddha. Then, it can't be used by any kind of spirits. It will be only used for good things.

It's the same with menstrual blood. Women can consecrate it, just thinking and saying "all the blood leaving my body i consecrate to the Buddha". This is not the blood per se which is offered, but the subtle energy which emanates from the blood. Everything is food. If you give it to the Buddha, it will feed Buddha activity.

We were talking about writing out sutras. No one writes outs sutras in blood from a wound or anything like that.
There are preparations that go before the practice to purify the ink. From the point of view of an ordinary being, there would be nothing pure about the blood you are talking about and it wouldnt be something one would offer.

diamind wrote:
However, using blood symbolically mixed with ink I would say is a great perversion, and seriously shrouded in wrong veiw.

I've never done it that way but I think it is common. Blood quagulates (turns thick) very quickly, I have heard that people will mix it with things to avoid this. Part of the diet preparations help with this too.
I think it just let them write more at one time.

"Using one’s own blood instead of ink was a way of showing extraordinary devotion involving “personal sacrifice.” The virtues of this act were promoted in several scriptures; one example is the following passage in the Ta chih tu lun 大智度論（J. Daichidoron): “If you truly love the [Buddhist] law, you should take your skin and use it as paper，take one of your bones and use it as a brush, and use your blood to write this (T. 25.178c)."

Palzang Jangchub wrote:I came across this from the Box Sutra while reading about Avalokiteshvara in a text, A Garland of Jewels by Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche. Emphasis is mine.

The Box Sutra wrote:The Bhagavat Shakyamuni once said, "It is valuable for beings to hold the name of Avalokita. His great awareness mantra of six syllables was sought for sixteen kalpas by all tathagatas. Even the great mother of tathagatas prostrates to this awareness mantra.

"Those who hold it and recite it will acquire immeasurable merit. At the time of it's recitation tathagatas and bodhisattvas equal in number to the smallest particles will gather. Millions of buddhas will enter the pores of the reciter of this mantra. They will bestow their approval, saying 'Child of family, you have well acquired something worthy of acquisition. Even all the beings who live in your belly will become irreversible bodhisattvas.' The reciter will be guarded by devas, nagas, yakshas, and others.

"Anyone who keeps this mantra on their body will achieve a vajra body and a buddha's wisdom. They will acquire all complete qualities, including confidence, wisdom, love, and the paramitas. They will quickly achieve the unsurpassable awakening of buddhahood.

"Any being who touches or sees this mantra will become a bodhisattva who has reached the end of rebirth. This great awareness mantra pulls out the root of samsara. It guides one to liberation and omniscience. In search of this mantra, one should fill all of Jambudvipa with the seven jewels and offer it. If someone wishes to write this mantra down but lacks ink, it would be excellent for them to use their blood as ink, their skin as paper, and their bones as a pen."

I know of a Western Buddhist teacher who received a Heart Sutra Calligraphy from a contemporary Chinese Ch'an Master written with his own blood. So it is still done nowadays, but probably not very widespread, I guess.

今以佛眼觀之佛與眾生同住解脫之床。無此無彼無二平等。Now, observing with the eye of the Buddha, both the Buddha and ordinary beings are in the same liberated state. There is neither this nor that: there is only non-duality and identity.
- 空海 Kūkai in Unjigi 吽字義 The Meaning of the Letter Hūṃ
- Kūkai on the Philosophy of Language by Takagi Shingen and Dreitlein Eijō
_______
Śrī Singha said to Padmasambhava:Since buddhas and sentient beings are inseparable and the same, it is necessary to respect all sentient beings as being on the same level with the buddhas. Can you?
- translated by Malcolm N. Smith

The following would be Pure Land practice, and moreover consecrated by one's own blood by taking a sewing needle or blood lancet and mixing a few drops of your own blood into (preferably natural) ink (like J. Herbin; although any ink ought to do) and copying the following section of this Sutra:

Make sure to have the intent of the Three Excellences or Three Noble Principles, and record it with your phone's video camera and post it to YouTube or any other social media to encourage others to do the same.

“...we should try to acquire clairvoyance. Without it, we are like a baby bird whose wings are undeveloped and has not yet grown feathers and remains stuck in its nest, unable to fly. Without clairvoyance, we cannot work for other sentient beings.” — Khunu Lama
“Just as a bird can not fly without both wings,
The welfare of others cannot be accomplished without the higher faculties of perception,
So diligently strive for your own wellbeing, whilst mentally considering the welfare of others.” — Longchenpa

Perhaps it's a Sutrayana level practice, but what can it hurt to have a brief instant of uncomfortableness, that is to spill up a drop or two of one's blood for the sake of the Dharma.

Last edited by Sādhaka on Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:21 am, edited 2 times in total.

“...we should try to acquire clairvoyance. Without it, we are like a baby bird whose wings are undeveloped and has not yet grown feathers and remains stuck in its nest, unable to fly. Without clairvoyance, we cannot work for other sentient beings.” — Khunu Lama
“Just as a bird can not fly without both wings,
The welfare of others cannot be accomplished without the higher faculties of perception,
So diligently strive for your own wellbeing, whilst mentally considering the welfare of others.” — Longchenpa

I'm aware that there are reports of people taking this literally, and that sounds pretty metal. A bit macabre and theatrical, but who could doubt your commitment to the dharma afterwards? As for me, I'm not about to open any veins, at least not of my physical body. So, I'll take it metaphorically as an exhortation to have the dharma in one's blood. I guess I'm just not hardcore like that.

I'm aware that there are reports of people taking this literally, and that sounds pretty metal. A bit macabre and theatrical, but who could doubt your commitment to the dharma afterwards? As for me, I'm not about to open any veins, at least not of my physical body. So, I'll take it metaphorically as an exhortation to have the dharma in one's blood. I guess I'm just not hardcore like that.

I am not so sure that harming beings, even if it is yourself, for no good reason is a sign of commitment to the Dharma.